Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a widely used imaging technology in the medical field. In general, acquiring MRI scans of a patient involves first acquiring one or more preliminary images, referred to as “scout” images. Such scout images are used as a spatial reference from which subsequent targeted MRI scans may be acquired. In other words, the scout images allow the operators of the MRI machine to confirm that the MRI scanner is targeted on the correct portion of the patient before capturing the desired images. The process of acquiring scout images before the desired diagnostic images increases the time required to complete the MRI examination, and by extension increases the cost of the examination as well as the load imposed on the MRI scanner.
Additionally, images acquired using imaging systems such as the above-mentioned MRI scanner may be acquired before a surgical procedure and used during the surgical procedure for guidance. In order to provide effective guidance during the procedure, such images may be aligned (for example, on a display attached to a computer) with images of the patient and surgical instruments .captured during the procedure. Such alignment processes can be time-consuming and inaccurate, and may require pauses in the procedure itself to complete.